I have ridden off road bikes in the past (125cc 80's montesa, 250cc gas gas, 125cc Yamaha YZ) but have never driven a road bike.
My whole family (even my mom) has a bike driving license, this is quite, very, extremely frustrating so having just entered my thirties I decided that enough is enough!

I currently have a Japanese driving license, live in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, I would like to pass the large bike (chuugata) driving license, and afterward buy a bike mainly for weekend tours not daily commute.

I browsed through the forums and a member F**tbike was recommended for both knowing about good riding schools and being a reliable shop.
But all those posts are years old.

So can anyone recommend a good riding school:
- my japanese is basic but it usually works out.
- the koyama driving school seems very expensive and is very far from where I live.

In a second time reputable dealers who can speak english.

Thanks a lot.
Q

rider2371

03-10-14, 11:51 AM

Welcome to the board.

Large bike license is Oogata. Chugata will only let you ride up to 400cc bikes.

For schools, I'll let other members reply cause I was in Chiba when I got my license. What I can tell you is that with a car license, it'll take you a minimum of 32 practice lessons at the school, and cost you around 200,000yen.

For dealers, I don't know many in Tokyo, or what kind/make of bike you want, but I'll recommend the forum vendor, Apexmoto, to set you up with the bike of your choice.

Good luck, and hope to see you on the road one day.

RedSquare

03-10-14, 12:25 PM

There are several threads in this forum in Oogata license and lessons, maybe a bit more searching will find the information that you need.

tfh

07-10-14, 08:12 PM

thanks for all the help. booked myself for chuugata at koysma driving school in Japanese . apparently it s impossible to try oogata straight away.

idkfa

08-10-14, 12:23 AM

Hi, tfh, you've done the right thing!

I went for Koyama for both my middle and big class riding course and those people/instructors are super patience and kind.
Usually you will pass on your first take in the school.

All the best and see you on the road soon.

Best,

tfh

12-10-14, 09:25 PM

idkfa, did you go through the classes in Japanese or English ? Do you know if there are any translation of the "textbook" in English ?

Regards
Q.

RedSquare

13-10-14, 10:46 AM

I used Koyama in Tamagawa with English lessons. Probably could have managed in Japanese. You all go round the course together. But the Japanese class gets one instructor between about 8 people and the English group gets one instructor for between 1 and 3 people. So you get a lot more time to get feedback from the instructor. So possibly worth the extra money.

Dualta

13-10-14, 11:44 AM

thanks for all the help. booked myself for chuugata at koysma driving school in Japanese . apparently it s impossible to try oogata straight away.

Are you absolutely sure about this? I was in your situation, but could have done the oogata, but chose the chugatta for cost reasons. Not unless the law has changed, you should be able to do the oogata with no problems, as far as I know.

idkfa

13-10-14, 09:36 PM

Hi tfh,

I took my Chugata License in Japanese two years ago and currently my Oogata License in Japanese.
It's ridiculously too expensive to take them in English.
Most of the Japanese instructors assigned for the "Regular Japanese" course do speak a bit of English.
If you can understand a little Japanese I think you can get by with the cheaper regular package.

Unfortunately the only way for you to get the English textbooks is to apply for their English Course.
You do have to pay a bit more but you are guaranteed to get your license unless you are terribly bad at riding.

Also, I did have my Japanese Car Driving Licence when I went for my bike classes so I didn't have to go through the basic but super intensive textbook theories.
If you are starting clean from scratch it's probably better to take it in English. Then when you take a car licence you can go for the regular Japanese classes.

Best,

idkfa

13-10-14, 09:40 PM

Are you absolutely sure about this? I was in your situation, but could have done the oogata, but chose the chugatta for cost reasons. Not unless the law has changed, you should be able to do the oogata with no problems, as far as I know.

Unless I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure you can't go straight for the Oogata licence course (from a licensed driving school) BUT you can go straight for the Oogata test at the Traffic Police.

dmizer

14-10-14, 12:29 AM

Unless I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure you can't go straight for the Oogata licence course (from a licensed driving school) BUT you can go straight for the Oogata test at the Traffic Police.

You are not mistaken. I took the "ippatsu" route by skipping school and going directly to the licensing center to take the cryptically translated written test in English (I asked for a copy in Japanese to help clarify the really bad parts). And the even more difficult oogata skills test. I passed on the 6th attempt and received my oogata license. Saved about 100,000 yen going this route, including several sessions with a local safety school who brought me up to date on how to pass the test. That said, if I had to do it all over I'd go the school route because it would have been less of a headache.

tfh

28-10-14, 10:11 AM

just to give an update I can recommend Koyama driving school Japanese course even if your Japanese is basic which was my case.

I obviously didn't understand everything that was said but the important stuff is hammered in enough times that it shouldn't be an issue.

Just got my chuugata yesterday so in less than a month for 12 man. ( 2 man extra to wrap everything up in 1month)

Onward to oogata, I think I will go the school route just for the convenience of being able to do everything on weekends.

Thanks everyone for all your feedback.

HandyAndy

02-11-14, 11:00 AM

It is possible to go for the Oogata test from nothing. I was set on doing it, was able to, but got convinced to do them separately for a variety of reasons. Got my Chuugata riding test in a few hours (fingers crossed) and will start my Oogata as soon as I get my Chuu. Price difference was minimal (~5000yen) but it was a good choice.

Best of luck with your license bro! Ride safe.

Saiken

20-02-15, 05:01 PM

Hey guys thanks for giving good advice. From what I researched going the school route will force me to take the chuugata test first at 17 lessons and then another 12 lessons for oogata. Not to mention the 10-20mon which is almost 1/4 of the cost of the damn bike I`m going to buy. I really want to go for the ippatsu route and get my Oogata license but its been a couple of years since I rode a bike. I contacted most driving schools near me (Yamato-shi, Kanagawa) and none of them do short training sessions or pay per hour which is what I`m looking for. Ive seen the test done, know all the stupid rules, and believe I`m a decent rider, but I really want to get a few hours of practice in on a big bike just so I can get a feel for the balance and clutch etc. The driving school at Fuchu mentioned earlier where you could pay per hour would of been perfect for me but no longer exist..... So anyone know a school/place ( in Kanagawa-ken) where I could pay per hour or even a couple of mon just for a short course? If not, Id probably even be willing to pay someone on the forums that lives near me to let me practice with them on their bike meanwhile making a few new riding buddy`s in the process. My options are limited but saving a grand skipping school and using that money for aftermarket parts sounds a lot better to me :)
Thanks, Jon

RedSquare

20-02-15, 07:21 PM

All of the licensed training schools can only give the full courses as mandated by the government. There are smaller unlicensed schools that can charge by the hour for as many as you want, and then you can take the test at a police course. The smaller schools also have access to training courses exactly like the police test courses.
Last year I tried the small school, failed 5 times at the police test, wasting half a working day each time. I then paid up and did a Koyama School Oogata course and passed first time at their test. I re-learnt a lot that I had forgotten in 8 years of not riding, I also enjoyed it a lot.
http://www.koyama.co.jp/english.htm
I did it at Tamagawa. If you decide to go there PM me and I will give you my name, if you give the name of a previous pupil you get a measly few thousand yen off. All my teachers spoke English. The English course costs more, but there are usually only 1 to 3 pupils per teacher as opposed to 8 to 10 for Japanese.

This is the smaller school that I used
http://fca-jp.com
Ono-san is the contact.

They were OK, but I didn't really realise how different they expect you to ride for the test, than you would in real life. It's all bike handling skills rather than road craft.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saiken

20-02-15, 08:00 PM

Thanks for replying. I'm frugal but yea I do realize how much doing the school would benefit me. And thanks for the info If all else fails I will use the contacts you recommended. Seems the small FCA school does 50 min lessons for 7500, a little steep but it might be my only choice. I'm in a little unique situation where I work nights so I have all morning to go take the test so I won't have to take any time off from work and I don't mind how many times it takes me. I went there and watched some people take the test and seen videos people recorded with go pro's so I think I don't really need to learn anything rather just a little practice on balancing on a ipon bashi and clutch control on a bigger bike. I raced motocross for years but haven't rode anything bigger than 500cc's on street.